Recent advances of MXene as promising catalysts for electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction

Electrochemical reduction of N-2, as an eco-friendly alternative, not only allows the use of protons in water as a source of hydrogen under mild conditions but also can be driven by renewable electric energy. The major challenge is to identify high-efficiency electrocatalysts. MXene is a new class of 2D transition metal carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides that have received significant attention in electrocatalysis. The investigations on MXene in electrocatalytic nitrogen fixation are rapidly proceeding, and some breakthroughs have emerged very recently due to MXenes' satisfactory catalytic activity. Here, the recent progress concerning the MXene-based catalysts for electrochemical N-2 reduction reaction (NRR) is highlighted. In regards to giving guidelines for exploring more efficient MXene-based catalysts for the NRR, the fabrication and surface modification of MXene are discussed. Besides, the shortcomings and challenges of current research are summarized and the future research directions are prospected. (C) 2020 Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.